Jewish Songwriters
This is about Jewish songwriters who wrote ballads of love, about the passage of time and about the nature of love…Let’s go backward in time…last year December 16, 2017, my family and a few close friends celebrated the 50th anniversary of the marriage between my wife and myself….i know I barely look 50 myself…she robbed the cradle…at gatherings like that it is appropriate for a Toastmaster to speak especially if you are one being honored…I won’t through the entire wonderful tribute to my wife because this is also about lyrics….so as part of it I quoted what I will roughly give you the melody of….a song Bobby Zimmerman wrote in 1970.
Pitch pipe….
If not for you, Babe, I couldn’t even find the floor, I couldn’t even see the door, I’d be sad and blue, if not for you
If not for you, my sky would fall, Rain would gather too…Without your love, I’d be nowhere at all. I’d be lost if not for you, I just wouldn’t have a clue if not for you
Without her….stamp, stamp stamp how can you not find the floor….blind to the exit…clueless, lost…now isn’t Bobby putting too much pressure on the other person? Is another person supposed to be the center, the bearings, responsible for your happiness and meaning….
Let’s take a look at how things really are….people look a others like an appliance…men look at women as if they were refrigerators….can I get her at a discount, is installation free, how much does the service warranty cover so I don’t have to fix her myself, does she make ice cubes, keep my beer chilled, and can I trade it in if a better model comes around….harsh….
And I know ladies….you look at men like apps on your magic phone Yard Work check; Handyman check; Uber check; butler service….host….escort…bread winner….light house work….connubial obligations…baby-sitter….how many of those 10 app does he have to check off so he is a keeper….???
Let’s go back to the contract we signed on 12/16/1967….Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour her, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live? Was your contract similar I remember when I said Yes….I’m signing up for life…and what happen to love, honor and OBEY….it was the winter of love…obedience was stricken from the vows…wow, a vow….the days when a man’s word was his bond…truth wasn’t spun into cotton candy, wasn’t exiled to an alternative universe, truth couldn’t be mistaken, forsaken and in no way could it be faken Vow…solemn promise to another a promise to dedicate yourself to a way of life
Let’s take a step back into the thirty’s…yes, I was not born yet….my favorite lyricist—Lorenz Hart---classics Blue Moon, Who Knows Where or When? The lyrics I will render were originally meant to be sung by a woman…utube Linda Ronstadt…but also Frank Sinatra and Jamie Foxx have versions on utube..and before I start know that there is an introduction to the song that lets us know the comic valentine in truthful and sincere
You’re my funny Valentine, sweet comic valentine, you make me smile with my heart, Your looks are laughable, unphotographable, Still, you’re my favorite work of art. Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak? When you open it to speak, are you smart? But don’t change a hair for me, Not if you care for me, Stay little V stay, Each day is valentine’s day. Wow, isn’t that the person we seek, not the funny valentine, but the singer….you may not be Jennifer Lawrence or George Clooney….but you are all right on the inside…deep, seeing through the imperfections to see the character….the writer knows that to try to change would move everything around, maybe even what is right inside…I can live with this!....I shall live with this! I could not live without this!
I saw this great license plate frame the top part had stamped on it ALL MEN ARE IDIOTS the bottom part stated MY HUSBAND IS THE KING
Let’s take the plunge 990 BC….3000 years ago….this Jewish song writer was so good he got into the Bible,King Solomon….famous for wisdom and 150 wives….so what a good source for advice about relationships…he says, Two are better than one…. For if they fall, one will lift up the other, Again, if two lie together, they are warm….and in that warmth god knows what they are capable of…..that was in Ecclesiasastes….but it is in this Song of Songs that he waxes most lyrical…we don’t have the melodies to his songs…mercifully for you because you know I would try to sing it….
You have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes. How sweet is your love, how much better is your love than wine…would you give up your favorite app for your spouse? .how strong is it?—it will cause the day to breath, and make all shadows flee
The author, of course, is not only comparing his love to one of his wives, to his love for god….divine love was known through carnal love so practice was necessary and with 150 wives there was no lack of practice sessions…come on, let’s get serious again
Set me as a seal upon your heart, my love for you is a seal upon my arm….for love is strong as death….for love is stronger than death….love is death’s equal….love is death’s peer….
These songwriters have been singing to us across time that there is an essential part of each human that we must cultivate in ourselves and see in others in order to give meaning to our lives…this is what is worth raising our voices for….each song reminds us to accumulate all the moments of love in our hearts but not seal it off, like holding lightening in a jar, but handle it, speak of it….recollection keeps these moments alive.
Thank you, Toastmasters, if not for you, I wouldn’t have a voice.